


The Light in His Eyes

by Scotland_Axel (orphan_account)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Depression, Dogs Helping with Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 07:32:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Scotland_Axel
Summary: Steve and Sam are in a safe house, and physically they're okay, but emotionally Steve's worried. Because the light has left Sam's eyes and he doesn't want to do anything for himself. It's almost like a different person came out of the Raft. Steve hopes a new friend can bring him back.





	The Light in His Eyes

The last thing Steve thought he’d do while a fugitive was buy a dog, and yet here he is staring at a dog he just  _ knows _ would love Sam to pieces. To be fair though, Steve’s never seen any living thing introduced to Sam  _ not _ like him. Still, this one is special, he can feel it. She could be the key to bringing Sam back to him.

Steve swallows the rising lump in his throat as he thinks about the few weeks since he broke Sam out of the Raft. 

It’s as if Sam went into the Raft and never came out. Like Steve never rescued him at all. It's a fight every day to get him to eat, to shower, to do anything, and the light in his eyes is gone, it's missing. Steve tries not to look Sam in the eyes anymore, he can't, or he'll cry at the emptiness they hold, at the emptiness he can't help to feel he placed there. 

Steve just wants his Sam back. He knows in ways he doesn't deserve him, maybe he never did, but he owes Sam this. Sam's saved him countless times, and though Steve got him out of the Raft there's still more saving to do. And this is the first step. 

Steve takes Nutmeg, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, home and the whole time her tail beats against the seat and she stares over at him excitedly. 

When they reach the safe house Steve takes a moment to stare at Nutmeg and wonder if he's actually doing this. He can't expect a damn Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to fix everything, but she could be a start, she certainly couldn't make things any worse. So he has to try. 

Steve lifts her up and carries her inside, finding Sam laying down in bed. His back is to the door so at least Steve can explain first. 

“Hey, Sam? I bought you a friend.” Steve says, his voice sounding impossibly small in the room. 

Sam rolls over slowly, his eyes as empty and hopeless as he's come to expect until they land on her. And the moment the light comes back to them is enough to bring the lump back to Steve's throat. 

Sam sits up slowly, his eyes as light as Steve’s seen them in weeks and locked on Nutmeg in his arms. Sam looks up at him uneasily. 

“Steve. Did you really buy her?” He asks. 

“Yeah, for you, I...I bought her for you.” Steve answers, walking over and sitting on the bed with her. Nutmeg does the rest, her white tail wagging as she trots over to Sam and nudges at his thigh. 

Steve watches a smile come over Sam’s face, tentative and slow as he lets Nutmeg climb into his lap and start licking his face. 

“What’s her name?” Sam asks, turning to Steve with a grin. But Sam’s face falls when he actually sees him, and Steve realizes he’s crying. 

“Steve, wh-”   
“No, no, I’m fine.” Steve says, quickly wiping his face with the heel of his palms, “Keep playing with her. Her name’s Nutmeg.” 

Sam looks back down at her, and purses his lips. “Steve. Steve, I know I’ve been...pretty much an entirely different person ever since the Raft. And you haven’t said anything about it, or treated me any differently. You’ve basically been my babysitter for the last few weeks instead of my boyfriend. If I went outside it was cause of you, if I took a shower it was cause of you, if I ate anything it was cause of you,” Sam stops to look at him again, and his eyes are brimming, “because I don’t know how to do anything right now. I don’t. I feel like I don’t even know how to live after that place, and you telling me what to do was exactly what I needed, but I never thanked you for it. So thank you. And I can’t say that I’ll be back one hundred percent tomorrow, because that would be a lie, but I think I can kind of believe it’s going to be okay now.”  

Steve shakes his head, and gives up on wiping his cheeks. “Taking care of someone doesn’t make you a babysitter it makes you a friend. And your smile is pretty good motivation. I just wanted to see you smile again.” Steve says, taking the back of Sam’s neck. “Can I kiss you?” 

Sam nods and Steve pulls him in, softly brushing their lips together in a gentle kiss. When they break apart Sam scratches behind Nutmeg’s ears and asks, “What food did you get her?”

“Shit, I forgot to get her food.” 

Steve stands up and grabs his keys, “I’ll just go back out, I won’t take long.”   
“Can I come?” Sam asks. 

Steve pauses, “Y-yeah, of course.” 

Sam stands up with Nutmeg held to his chest, and smiles. And it’s one of the best things Steve’s seen in his whole life. He vows to make sure it never goes away again. 


End file.
